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Harvey Weinstein

That is not going to be all that difficult, after The Donald’s sad attempt at an “October Surprise” yesterday, which prompted widespread ridicule and accusations of opportunism.

(The President had a nice zinger on The Tonight Show late Wednesday. When asked by Jay Leno what the Trump thing was all about and the root cause, Obama said, “It all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya.”)

Movie mogul and co-head of The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein, has come up with what some are calling a “November Surprise” of his own, which looks to outclass Mr. Trump with its timeliness, ingenuity and potential election impact.

His effort will mix together an inspirational address by a nation’s leader in a time of international turmoil and the story of some brave U.S. commandos on foreign soil, against a backdrop of domestic gut-wrenching unemployment.

(No, we are not talking about “The King’s Speech”, "Inglourious Basterds” or “The Company Men”).

We are talking about “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden”, a film purchased and backed by staunch Obama supporter Weinstein and strategically planned to first air on November 4th on the National Geographic Channel.

Thanks to the magic of editing, President Obama will have a starring role in a television drama about one of his biggest accomplishments—the killing of Osama bin Laden—that will be shown just two nights before the presidential election.

The Times reported that Weinstein bought the film for “about $2.5 million” at the Cannes festival in May.

Mr. Weinstein was prominently in the news in August regarding the President, hosting what was reported to be a $35,000 per plate fundraiser at his oceanfront estate in Westport, CT.

The film originally included a scene showing Gov. Mitt Romney ‘appearing to oppose the raid,’ a complete fabrication of history. ‘SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden’ grants President Barack Obama a "starring role," and was edited--apparently at Weinstein's suggestion--to embellish Obama's involvement: 'the film has been recut, using news and documentary footage to strengthen Mr. Obama’s role and provide a window into decision-making in the White House.' The director claims, in his defense, that the edits reduce Obama's on-screen time.

The Romney scene was cut at the insistence of National Geographic Channel CEO Howard T. Owens, who told the Times: ‘We wouldn’t air this if it were propaganda.’ He explains the choice of the film's release date as merely the best chance to exploit its commercial potential.

Even the blurb on the Weinstein website, apparently authored by the Huffington Post, acknowledges the potential uproar which may be coming:

The controversial premiere date ensures that the full-length feature film, the first dramatized re-telling of the special forces operation that killed the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, will be injected into the national discussion in the pivotal final days before American voters cast their ballots.

With the polls tightening and the issues of unemployment, growth and the economy still at the forefront, the question of leadership in the context of “Commander-in-Chief” is still never far off the radar screen. And many voters will be making decisions very late in the game. According to thereporter.com, 9% of presidential voters decided their vote in the last 3 days in 2004 and 10% decided in the last week in 2008.

In somewhat related news, media reports were breaking yesterday that Clint Eastwood is appearing in new ads in support of Romney to run in seven states, as Republicans play at least one of their own Hollywood cards.